IndiGo fliers who were stranded in Almaty for over 17 hours were left further frustrated after their Delhi-bound flight stopped for a crew change
Frustrated passengers said they would choose other airlines in the future. Representation Pic/istock
More than 200 passengers who were already distressed after getting stuck in Almaty, Kazakhstan, due to the cancellation of Indigo flight P6E1802 on April 11 at 12.50 am, had to face further inconvenience when the rescheduled flight on the night of April 12 also got delayed. What added to their frustration was that the flight, which was supposed to land at New Delhi airport, was diverted to Amritsar.
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The rescheduled flight was supposed to depart at 7.30 pm, but it took off after 9.30 pm. This delay angered the passengers, who had already been stuck for over 17 hours. According to a passenger, the reason given was that the delay was due to extra fuelling because of congestion in Delhi. One of the passengers questioned why the flight was not refuelled earlier, as it had been at the airport since the previous night. The passenger said this delay could have been avoided.
Karan Verma, a passenger, said, “I was expecting to land in Delhi, then book a bus to continue my journey to Nainital. But once we entered Indian airspace, an announcement was made on the flight saying that we would be landing at Amritsar airport instead of New Delhi due to a crew change. This came as a complete shock—not just to me, but to all the passengers on board. We had already been stuck for hours, and this unexpected change made everyone angry.”
Another passenger, Prajakta Samant, said, “After landing, the ground staff entered the aircraft, and passengers began questioning them about why a crew change was needed for a relatively short flight.” “The ground staff who boarded the aircraft also didn’t seem to know the exact reason and requested to be allowed to proceed with their duties. Some passengers firmly told the staff that a new pilot should be arranged immediately to fly the plane to its original destination, New Delhi. The staff assured everyone that arrangements would be made and the flight would take off as soon as possible,” said another passenger.
After much discussion and arguments, the flight finally took off from Amritsar airport at 2.30 am with a new pilot. A passenger told mid-day that one of the pilots, Akash Agarwal, who flew the aircraft from Almaty to Amritsar, did not leave the cockpit. Before the plane took off again, a doctor visited the cockpit, but the exact reason for this visit is still unknown. It is said that breath analysis was done on all crew members, which may be a standard practice. To pacify passengers, the airline tried to distribute food. However, to avoid further delays, the passengers requested the staff to simply hand over the food, which they then distributed among themselves.
Prajakta Samant, the passenger, further added, “I had received my second boarding pass for the Mumbai flight while I was in Almaty. It was scheduled to depart from Terminal 1 in New Delhi at 2 am, as my Almaty–New Delhi flight was supposed to land at Terminal 3 around 10.30 pm. However, by the time we actually reached New Delhi, my connecting flight had already departed—and it was from a different terminal. First, we had to go through immigration and then collect our luggage. When we arrived at the international terminal, there was no airline counter available. We approached a baggage service counter, but the person there only had a computer and no facility to issue boarding passes.”
“Everyone lined up there, hoping to get some clarity about the next steps. When my turn came, I was told I’d be accommodated on a 6 am flight to Mumbai. I was asked to take a picture of the PNR shown on the screen, as I would need it to get a boarding pass at Terminal 1,” Samant said. It was already 4 am, and since the Mumbai flight was at 6 am, Samant and other passengers headed to collect their luggage and exit the airport in order to catch a shuttle bus to the terminal from where the Mumbai flight would depart. A female passenger on the bus was allegedly asked to get down to collect a coupon needed for the special shuttle. However, when she and a fellow passenger returned with the coupon, the shuttle had already left without them.
While they were waiting, another shuttle bus, which runs to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) via terminals, arrived, and they boarded it. By 5.10 am, they reached the IndiGo counter at the airport only to be told that the gate was far and boarding had closed. Samant and other passengers told the IndiGo representatives that they must be accommodated on the next flight due to the amount of trouble they had faced. Eventually, the airline accommodated them on a 7 am flight to Mumbai. Passengers alleged poor management and Some even said they would choose other airlines in the future. Calls and messages to IndiGo Airlines for a statement went unanswered till press time.
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